WA shines at Royal Show wine comp - The West Australian

The 2014 Perth Royal Wine Show has been a triumph for WA producers with nine of the 19 trophies awarded for individual wines against all-comers going to wines made in this State.

The success story of the show was Margaret River's Aravina Estate which won five trophies including best wine of the show for its chardonnay 2013. Aravina's other trophies were for the best white table wine and best chardonnay, and also for the best WA white wine and best WA wine overall.

Aravina Estate is the reincarnation of the Amberley Estate vineyard which was bought by WA mining industry man Steve Tobin from Accolade Wines several years ago.

In April this year I wrote this wine up in the Weekend West with these comments: Lavish and stylish Margaret River chardonnay showing how far this producer has come in recent years. Has a nutty creamy nose with some spicy floral attributes. On the palate you start to get a taste of Margaret River power, but it's delivered with a degree of refinement and stylish restraint. Still has the power that is the hallmark of the region.

Score: 93/100

The show was a real success for some of WA's smaller producers and among the wins were several surprises.

In particular was Margaret River's Ashbrook Estate, which won a trophy for its 2014 riesling, a variety that is not generally associated with the region but which has been championed by Ashbrook for a number of years.

Another small producer's success - literally - was that of John Small's Smallwater Estate which won the hotly contested trophy for the best shiraz of the show against some of the biggest names in the country with its shiraz 2013. This wine has already scored a number of other show successes and points to the considerable potential for shiraz from the Geographe region.

The Perth Wine show also ended the show judging career of the show chairman Brian Croser who said he "had decided to hang up his palate after 40 years of show judging". He said he was particularly impressed with the quality of the chardonnays and shiraz, which both showed great finesse demonstrating how far these varieties had come in Australia.

"Australian winemakers are reinventing theee4 styles and the award winners were world class," he said.

Perth Royal Wine Show 2014 results:

Most Successful Exhibitor

McWilliam's Wines

Best Wine of the 2014 Show

Aravina Estate Chardonnay 2013

Most Successful West Australian Exhibitor

Houghton Wines

The Trophy for Exhibitor whose 5 or more judged entries gain the highest average points.